


Safe

by Mr_DeBlob



Category: Aerois (High Rollers D&D Campaign), Yogscast "High Rollers" D&D Campaign
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, Let’s hope this goes well!, M/M, Snuggling, complicated feelings, first fanfic, set during episode 10
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-08-20 23:43:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16565390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mr_DeBlob/pseuds/Mr_DeBlob
Summary: Quill knew that it was cold in the Iron Weald, but he never expected to have Lucius sleeping against him. Especially underneath his wing.





	Safe

**Author's Note:**

> So... this is my first fanfic. Didn’t expect to be a D&D campaign but the shipping instincts don’t stop for anyone!
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this, and that some of you decide to begin writing more fanfic for the Aerois campaign, especially since this is the first one from what I’ve seen!

Quill wasn’t sure how to feel at this moment.

Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto was snuggled up against him, his tall frame blanketed by Quill’s remaining wing. Or more accurately, with his arm draped over the high elf’s shoulders. Although the chase for Valla and her kidnappers should have been at the forefront of his mind, the warmth of Lucius’ body against his own was all he could pay attention to. However bad he wanted to move away, though, he didn’t have much of a choice.

The Iron Weald was not the warmest place on Aerois, and the beginning of the Long Night sent temperatures plummeting. But none of them prepared for this. No one had any bedrolls or blankets on them. The only one fine in these temperatures was Sentry. And fires were completely out of the question in a place like this, at least according to Genn. The only way to stay warm in this environment was for all of the group to huddle up together.

And that’s how Quill ended up with three people sleeping against him. He had feathers, and feathers meant he had warmth. This wasn’t exactly surprising to him, but having several people pushed against you isn’t the most comfortable way to sleep. Thankfully, Nova and Arval didn’t press him in. But this left him in a rather... intimate position alone with Lucius.

 _Why was he the only one who took up my offer?_ ,Quill thought. _Surely they couldn’t stay warm by themselves?_

Earlier, Quill, after a bit of thought, offered up his wing as a blanket for anyone to use to shield themselves from the cold. But apparently nobody needed it. Nova was snug in her overcoat and scarf. Sentry was... well, Sentry. And unexpectedly, Arval seemed completely unfazed by the cold out here.  
Which left Lucius, the only one who had no way of keeping himself warm.

 

In the rush to find Valla and the panic of finding Yusuf’s and Corrin’s bodies, Lucius left behind his chromatic coat. It hung in the home of the Brookstones, left behind in the rush back to the Brazen Heart. Where they found the bodies. All Lucius had to protect himself was his thin black outfit, doing nothing to shield him from the cold.

 

That realization came too late to the group when it mattered. The grove Genn led them to took time, and they couldn’t simply walk back and ask his family for a blanket.

 

Arval, surprisingly, had a blanket on him, which he offered when Lucius started freezing. As a trader, he seemed to always be prepared. But the dwarf didn’t seem to factor in height. When he handed it off, Lucius held it up to see if it would fit. It barely covered his torso.

 

Taking a look at him, the group couldn’t help but have a few giggles. They needed a bit of humor to lighten the mood. Especially Quill. His constant anxiety hadn’t gotten any better with the situation at hand. He would take any chance he had to relax.

 

And Lucius always offered up those chances. Despite his naivety, he knew what to say to keep their spirits up. It was almost his job at this point. And Quill was grateful for this.

 

For him.

 

Ever since he’s met Lucius, Quill realized that he felt a sense of ease whenever he was with him. A kind of ease that’s been hard for him to find since his accident. It’s not simply the sense of security Sentry gives him, but a complete sense of peace.

 

Quill took a quick glance at Lucius, while everyone else tried to find something for him. Just one look at his face, at his bright eyes with their never-ending optimism. And he felt glad.

 

Then a thought creeped into his mind. One which had been waiting for this moment of happiness.

 

_I wonder if... he’d let me hold his hand..._

 

And only a few moments later, Quill’s reverie was suddenly shattered.

 

_WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT! WHY IN SIASKA’S NAME DID I THINK THAT?! WHY IN **AEROIS** DID THAT EVEN POP INTO MY HEAD!?_

 

The Aarakocra’s mind was sent spiraling into a thousand directions, none of them leading to a calm place. The only thing he was sure about was that he had thought of Lucius in more than friendly terms.

 

_I can’t really like Lucius in that way, can I?_

 

Quill tried to calm himself down. He couldn’t let this ruin his focus on saving Valla. Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath, let it out, and tried to mentally shake himself back to the group’s present situation. _Right now, we need to save her. And for that, we need to keep warm right now. It’s no use resting if we freeze to death._ His eyes opened and he came back to reality.

 

Everyone seemed to have given up on finding Lucius something to cover himself. Arval had his blanket in his hands, still concerned over the high elf. However, nobody had anymore energy to spend on this problem. Spending a day wandering through thick forest left them exhausted. The best thing for them to do right now would be to sleep.

 

As they headed over to a moss-covered log to sleep by, Quill has a realization. He had a blanket with him already. It was his wing. His feathers would be soft, and it would be heated with his own body heat. It was just as good, if not better, than any blanket they had. If Arvil gave his cover to Lucius, the dwarf could still stay warm under Quill’s wing.

 

The Aarakocra looked at the group, held up his wing, and said “I have an extra blanket, in the form of a wing.”

 

“Excellent,” Lucius replied.

 

Almost immediately, the high elf placed himself underneath his wing, and in one motion, sat both of them down against the log, snuggling up against Quill.

 

_...Crap._

 

The rest of them set themselves down around Quill, using whatever they had on them to shield themselves from the cold. Nova sunk into her scarves and coat, Arval covered himself in his blanket and fell asleep in an instant, and Sentry simply set herself on the ground alone, not needing the heat. In time, all of them fell into a much-needed rest.

 

All of them but Quill.

 

For whatever reason, he found that he simply couldn’t fall asleep. Despite his complete exhaustion, something kept him awake. Something he couldn’t quite describe. It was a knot in his chest, a faster heartbeat, a tightness in his throat, a thumping in his head. Different from his anxiety, and something more than nervousness. Then it finally clicked.

 

It was confusion. Confusion about when his feelings even arose. About where and why they even had a chance to grow. About why this man next to him had the ability to affect him so much.

 

He took another look at Lucius and tried to look back at his actions. Quill wanted to pin down why he liked him so much. What it was that made him feel so... happy.

 

 _There’s something he’s been able to do. Something that no one else can do that makes me feel so right around him. I’m sure that I can work through whatever I feel and just... get over him._ Aarakocra could only live for 30 years, and Quill was already an adult at 3. But high elves could live for well past a century, and while he didn’t know Lucius’s age, he knew the man would outlive his own short 27 years left. Even if Lucius did return his feelings, it would only be a short while before his own impending death, and it would leave the high elf devastated. Quill wouldn’t want to put him though something like the death of a lover, as he already seemed so fragile. The best thing he could do would be to simply let go of his feelings.

 

 _What do I even see in him anyway?_ he mused. _The cow incident should’ve been more than enough for me to snuff out any interest I had in him._ But he still smiled fondly when he recalled it. However frustrated Quill was with Lucius whenever he messed around, that’s not what he remembered. He only had his own amusement looking back on it, and his fascination with Lucius’s almost idiotic sense of determination. That sense of happiness began to wash over Quill again.

 

_Wait. I’m trying to talk myself out of liking him, and I’m just going deeper into my feelings. Why can’t I just-_

 

Lucius suddenly shifted. He lost his balance sitting up and fell right into Quill, the elf’s face buried into his feathery ruff. The Aarakocra stood stone-still, paralyzed by the heat radiating right into him. He could only stare at Lucius’s calm face, peaceful and content next to him. And all he could feel was everything he didn’t want to.

 

 _Why can’t I just let go of him? Why can’t I stop my heart from pounding? Why can’t H'esper just come down and force me to stop feeling this way?_ Quill agonized over everything he felt, wishing and hoping that something would shake him out of this.

 

“...Birdie?”

 

It was only a whisper, but Quill knew that it came Lucius. His voice was louder than anything that prowled the among the wilds of the Iron Weald.

 

 _Is he awake?! I thought he fell asleep ages ago?_ Quill was panicked, wondering if the high elf could somehow read his thoughts through some unknown spell. But he stole a look at him and saw that Lucius’s eyes were still closed, in the same serene state it had been the entire time. _Did I just imagine him speaking...?_

 

“Come on, Birdie,” Lucius murmured, still sound asleep.

 

 _He’s talking in his sleep... and about me no less._ Quill was relieved that his feelings were still hidden. He wouldn’t know what to do if they came out of him. But at the same time... he felt that happiness wash over him again, knowing that Lucius thought about him even in sleep. Then he knew that he couldn’t let go of his feelings, for Lucius had set himself too deeply into his heart.

 

_H’Esper couldn’t make me leave him behind, so why am I pretending I could do the same? It’s impossible for me to not develop a liking to him and just as impossible for me to change that._

 

Quill, without realizing it, let out a sigh of relief. He needed to allow himself to simply feel what he did, without trying to deny or suppress them. He already had issues being around other Aarakocra, and he couldn’t imagine what would’ve happened if he acted the same around Lucius.

 

_He’s not somebody I can just run away from, not in the way I ran from everyone else. Lucius is going to stay by me for a while, and neither me nor him can just... fly away. If I’m going to have these feelings, I need to follow them, not just shove them away._

 

Sudden motion shook him from his thoughts. Quill felt Lucius begin to jerk around in his sleep. While the man had moved around during the night, this was different. Twitches, shivers, and tension seemed to overtake him, and his face contorted with something Quill knew too well: Fear.

 

Though the signs were small, it was easy to tell that Lucius was having a nightmare. More than that, it absolutely terrified him.

 

“No... Please!”

 

_Lucius?_

 

“No! Birdie!”

 

_Why are you-_

 

“Stop hurting him!”

 

Quill’s eyes suddenly widened at the realization that Lucius was having a nightmare about him. A nightmare in which he was getting hurt right in front of the high elf. And it was torturous for him.

 

_Wh-Wh-What do I do?!_

 

He was unsure how to help Lucius, or if he even could help him. There was nothing in his spell set about warding off nightmares. But Quill knew that he didn’t want to see the man he liked suffering right next to him. _What do you do to help someone through a nightmare? You make sure to try and calm them down. But what how do I do that?_ He knew that Lucius felt solace with his father, so maybe he should pretend to be him?

 

 _...No, that probably isn’t the best idea is it?_ That had many levels of discomfort that he didn’t need to go through right now. But Lucius still remained panicked beside him, beginning to let out yelps of fear. _Shit. Okay, just think Quill. What would someone need to do to calm me down?_

 

It was then that Quill figured out why he liked Lucius, and what he needed to do help him.

 

He put held his wing tighter around the Lucius and let the man rest against his ruff. He stroked the man’s head in a soothing way, making sure his talons didn’t scratch. He let his let his beak rest near his ears, and whispered calming words to him.

 

“It’s okay Lucius. I’m not hurt. I’m okay. You don’t need to worry about me like you always do.”

 

Quill saw Lucius’ kindness and compassion, his concern for others. Consoling Valla after they raided the wild elves’ camp. Setting up a charity for the entirety of Rosehall. Even his asinine concern over whether or not Quill had a headache when he tried to detect magic.

 

“I’m alright Lucius, and I’m right here beside you. Birdie is here and he won’t let himself be hurt in front of you.”

 

He saw the way that Lucius always wanted to look out for him. How he always tried to keep Quill out of danger. The care and unabashed affection he always directed toward him. Even Birdie seemed to be a term of endearment to Quill.

 

“You don’t need to panic. You can move through this fear, Lucius. You’ve done it before so many times. You set aside your fear and try to help everybody.”

 

Lucius’ endless optimism and determination seemed to shine brightly in Quill’s mind. No matter how bad a situation seemed, Lucius always held out and kept moving forward. His continued belief in his father coming to find him proves just how strong his spirit is.

 

“I know you can get through this, Lucius. I believe in you.”

 

Although Lucius’ eyes hadn’t opened once while he spoke, Quill knew his words got through. His body managed to stop shaking, releasing all then tension he had been holding. His face relaxed, returning to the peaceful state it held before. All that was left of the nightmare was Quill’s wing wrapped tightly around Lucius, keeping him warm and secure.

 

But Quill didn’t move his wing. He felt that sense of ease again, holding Lucius against him and keeping the man safe from the cold. It wasn’t just being around Lucius that made Quill feel safe, it was knowing that he could protect him too. Even while the group fought creatures and those who wronged them, as long as the two of them were together, Quill could feel secure.

 

The same way that he felt right now.

 

As Quill cradled Lucius against him, he could finally feel sleep overtaking him, his worries and fears fading into peaceful darkness. He took one last look at the man next to him and smiled.

 

_Maybe this is better than holding hands._

 


End file.
